The 2023 MLB regular season isn't even a day old yet, and Braves President/CEO Derek Schiller has already offered the biggest praise about this team: They are the best in team history.
Best in team history without playing a single game? Better than any Braves team from 1996-98, when they won 100-plus games three consecutive seasons, playing in two World Series? Better than the 2001 Braves that won 101 games. The '91 worst-to-first team? The '93 Braves that won 104 games? Or how about the 1995 and 2021 teams that won titles?
Coming in with the highest payroll in team history at $199 million (8th overall in MLB), this Braves team is coming off another 100-win season. They return their top three starting pitchers, have a fully healthy MVP candidate in Ronald Acuña Jr., and depth all around. They are one of the betting favorites to win the NL. I mean, there's a lot to like there.
Steak and Drew had a chance to break down some rosters of previous Braves teams this morning on the Steakhouse, and offered their opinions on whether or not this Braves team qualifies as the best in team history.